Play Date
by Bluejay Blaze
Summary: Ur has to go help her sister hunt a demon. She can't exactly take the boys with her, so she leaves them with a good friend for a couple days. Now a series of interconnected one-shots paralleling the main story. AU of my own tweaking.
1. Play Date

_What if Ur was a frost dragon? Imagine that the magic she taught Gray and Leon was really a form of ice dragon slayer magic. In that case, we can assume Ur would probably have known Igneel, Metallicana, and Grandine. So there's a good chance that the young dragon slayers could have met too._

Two young boys trotted up the hillside, breathing heavily as they tried to keep up with their master. Said woman paused and laughed at her disciples. She stood at the top of a ridge, her black hair outlined against the sky.

"Gray! Leon! Hurry up! We're almost there!"

"Why do we have to go see Master's friend anyway?" the boy named Leon asked, wiping sweaty silver hair off his forehead. His companion shrugged.

"How should I know?" Gray asked. White momentarily obscured his raven hair as he slipped his sweater off. "It's too warm out. Who does Ur know that lives here?"

Eventually the trio came to a halt in front of a cave. Ur knelt down to better talk to her tiny students. "Now, I want you two to be good for Igneel. He'll be looking after you for a couple of days while I go on a mission with my sister."

"Why can't we go with you?" Leon whined. "We could help!"

Ur laughed and ruffled his hair. "No, it's best you stay here. Grandine and I are going demon hunting; it's too dangerous for little boys." Then the tall woman stood up and yelled at the cave.

"Oi, Igneel! The boys and I are here!"

"Coming!"

The answering voice was like nothing Gray and Leon had ever heard. It was a roar, a cross between the rumbling of an earthquake and the crackling of a fire. Soon afterwards there was a series of thunderous footsteps from the cave. The boys hid behind Ur in fear.

First to appear were the mighty red paws, large enough to hold a human like a toy. They were followed by a body the size of a small house, with a tail that stretched back into darkness. A crown of horns sprouted from the dragon's skull, something fluffy and pink rising between them. Golden eyes stared worriedly from under massive brows that were creased into a worried frown.

"It's a dragon," Gray whispered. Leon nodded mutely.

"Pleased to meet you boys," the dragon muttered distractedly. "Ur, just give me a moment will you? I appear to have misplaced my little salamander."

The pink fluff on the dragon's head let out a stifled giggle. Ur smirked. "Well, I guess I'll have to ask Metallicana to look after them then. I can't leave Gray and Leon here if little boys keep going missing."

"I'm not missing!" The pink fluff jumped up from the dragon's head, resolving itself into a boy a little younger than Gray and Leon. "I'm right here!" The boy slid down the dragon's side and landed in a tumble.

"Natsu," the dragon sighed, "What did I tell you about today?"

Black eyes stared sadly at the dirt. "That you had friends coming over, so you want me to behave. Sorry Igneel."

"Good." Igneel nuzzled Natsu's head gently. "Now, this is Ur and her sons Gay and Leon. Ur has business with Grandine out east, so the boys will be staying with us for a couple days. You be good with them, you hear?"

Natsu nodded. Leaping forward, he grabbed Gray with one hand and Leon with the other. "Come on! There's a pool in the back of the cave where we can go swimming!" The pink-haired boy dragged his new companions quickly inside.

Igneel smiled and turned to Ur. "Are you sure it's wise," he asked, "Raising those two without telling them what you are?"

Ur spread her wings with a grin. "I want them to be good with other humans. Your boy's gonna have trouble that way someday Iggy."

The fire dragon sighed. "I wish you wouldn't call me that."

"But I like to. Someone's gotta keep the title _King of the Fire Dragons_ from going to your head." Blue scales glittered like crystals as Ur unfolded into her true shape. The frost dragon nuzzled her warm, red friend.

"Now, be good to my boys. I won't have you scaring them like you did my husband."

"It was your fault for taking a human mate," Igneel muttered. Ur didn't hear him; she was already in flight.

The boys, meanwhile, were having a grand time. Gray and Leon had never been to a natural hot spring before. True, they found the heat a little too much, but they were having enough fun that it soon ceased to bother them. Natsu had challenged the two young ice mages to a full on water battle. The three were splashing and laughing so much that they didn't notice Igneel come inside. At least, not until a dragon-sized tidal wave swept across the spring.

"Wheeeeee!" Natsu shouted joyously, riding the warm surf. Gray and Leon weren't as quick to adjust and ended up being swept away. This resulted in the pair lying on the side of the pool, coughing up warm water as Natsu laughed at them from between Igneel's horns.

Competitive as always, Leon cooled his hands with ice before splashing back with all his might. He was joined a second later by Gray. The pair produced a large wave of super-cooled water that swept over Igneel's head, pulling Natsu down. Golden eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed. The dragon grinned and turned to his son.

"Get them."

-time skip-

Over the next two days the three boys became fast friends. Igneel smiled as he watched them wrestling on the floor of the cave. All three would be good dragon slayers when they grew older. Leon's competitive nature would lead to great learning; Gray and Natsu were strong and pure of heart. Igneel was proud of the boys, even if only one of them was his own.

Natsu and Gray flopped apart, panting. Both little balls of energy were finally exhausted, their game over without a clear winner. Leon took the opportunity to challenge Gray; the silver-haired youngster didn't have as much stamina as the other two. But before Gray could respond, Natsu tackled Leon and pinned him to the floor.

"Nu-uh," the pink-haired boy said, "Gray'n me aren't finished. Nobody gets to beat Gray before I do."

Gray snorted. "What makes you think he could beat me Pinky? Or that you could either? I'm the strongest."

"No, I am!"

"No way, it's me!"

And thus the three boys resumed their playful scuffle. Igneel chuckled. Fire and ice… It didn't seem like they should go together, but they did. The boys would provide balance for each other, just as he and Ur did. Speaking of which…

"I'm back!" Ur marched into Igneel's cave, a massive grin on her face. A purple bruise spread across one of her cheeks, but other than that, she was unharmed. Leon and Gray immediately abandoned their tussle with Natsu to hug their mentor.

"Were you good boys for Igneel?" Ur wanted to know. Both children nodded.

"Can we come back again?" Gray wanted to know. "We like playing with Natsu. And I still have to get him to admit that I'm the strongest!"

Ur patted Gray on the head. "Of course we can come back. Now, why don't you go say goodbye to Natsu while I talk to Igneel?"

Gray and Leon scampered off. Sighing happily, Ur turned to her friend. "How'd you do it Iggy? Gray and Leon almost never smile. Especially Gray, not that it's a surprise after how I found him."

"It wasn't me," Igneel rumbled, "It was Natsu. My little salamander knows how to make anyone smile."

"Maybe Metallicana needs to send his little brat to stay here next."


	2. Dragons and Fairies

_ What? An update? What's Blue thinking? Seriously though, I like playing with my Playdate AU, so it's sorta gonna end up being a bunch of one shots I add to if I feel like. They'll probably parallel the main story eventually. And I know people wanted to see something with a basket of baby dragon slayers, but Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue refused to provide me with inspiration. Instead, have the story of how Natsu and Gray joined Fairy Tail in this version. And yeah, I may be messing with timelines a bit, but it's already an AU so I don't care._

Gray picked up his shirt off the ground and used it to wipe away his tears. He really hoped nobody was around to see him cry.

It had all started just after Ultear came home. Ur had introduced the girl to Gray and Leon as an older sister, her daughter who'd been missing for several years. The tearful joy of that day had quickly given over to anger; the little family soon found themselves on a mission to destroy the research facility that had taken Ultear away. When they'd gotten there though, the lab had been deserted.

A dragon had come while they debated what to do next. It wasn't Igneel, to Gray's disappointment. He wanted to see Natsu again. Instead, this dragon had been smaller, a bright copper-blue with red markings. His appearance had taken Ur by surprise.

"Incruentus." She greeted the dragon with a small bow. He nodded his massive head.

"Greetings Ur." There was something creepy and bubbly about this dragon's voice. It sounded bloody. "Igneel sent me to tell you it's time."

Ur frowned. "Already? Man Iggy... Tell him I can't. I've got two of them anyway; he'll understand."

Laughter boiled up from the dragon's chest. "He knew you'd say that. He also told me to say that Ultear is more than capable of doing for one of them, despite her father."

"What? No!" Ur flew into a rage and started cursing at the dragon in a language Gray didn't understand. At least, he assumed it was cursing. She certainly sounded angry. A small cough from Ultear broke through the tirade.

"It's okay mama. I'll do it."

Ur froze. "Ultear, no. Do you even know what you're talking about? I can't let you do it, not when I just got you back. You deserve a normal childhood."

"I already missed out on that." Ultear's eyes shone with tears, but she stood firm. "At least this way I get to be with one of my brothers. And when it's over, I won't go the same way as the rest of you. Daddy's blood will protect me."

"What's going on?" Lyon drawled. Ur bit her lip, then swept Gray and Leon up into a hug.

"We can't tell you boys, not yet. But you'll find out in time. Come on, let's find someplace to sleep for the night."

...The next morning, when Gray and Lyon woke up, Ur and Ultear were gone.

It had been several months since that day. To be honest, Gray hadn't kept track. He and Lyon had split up in search of their family. They sent letters to each other whenever they ended up in a town or city, but it was hit and miss. They rarely actually received the notes. So far, neither had found any sign of their mother or sister.

Gray continued on through the forest, wondering where the next town was. He thought the last sign had said Magnolia was coming up, but he wasn't sure if he'd gotten turned around since. The ice mage wasn't the greatest navigator.

Sounds of sobbing from a tree made Gray freeze. Literally, his first instinct was to freeze the tree. His magic was met with a cry of indignation and a gout of fire and something pink and fluffy fell from the branches. Gray recognized it instantly.

"Natsu!" Gray bowled the the smaller boy over with his desperate hug.

"Huh? Gray?" Natsu cocked his head to one side. "Where's Lyon? And Ur?"

Gray stared at his feet. "Ur left. One night she just disappeared. Lyon and I split up to look for her and Ultear."

"Ultear?"

"Ur's daughter. Our big sister. Hey, does Igneel know where they went?" A jolt of hope went through Gray, only to be immediately shot down by Natsu's crushed look.

"Igneel disappeared too. I've been looking for him everywhere." The fiery boy sniffled and buried his face in his scarf.

Marching to a nearby bush, Gray collected his pants, which had mysteriously left his body. "We'll look together," he decided, surprising Natsu. "With my eyes and your nose, I'm sure we can find them. Then we can get Lyon and figure out who's the strongest."

When he turned around, Gray was greeted by a watery smile. "It's me, Ice-cube. Fire melts ice."

"But then ice turns into water and puts the fire out!"

Gray launched himself at Natsu, tackling the other boy playfully. The two of them scuffled and rolled their way through the trees until they came to rest at the base of a building. Cobbled streets and towering houses stretched out before them; they'd rolled into a city.

"Where are we anyways?" Natsu broke off the fight to examine their surroundings. "I've never been somewhere like this before." A cart raced by not far from them, causing the smaller boy to leap behind Gray with a hiss.

"Seriously? You've never been in a town before?" Gray was shocked.

"Well duh. Igneel didn't exactly blend in. Or fit. This is a human place, right?"

"Yeah." Gray hitched up his backpack and gulped. "I, uh... I think this is Magnolia. I'm gonna check with the local Guild and see if they've seen Ur. Stay close to me, okay? And don't cross the roads without looking both ways first."

"Roads?"

"Paths made of rocks."

The pair slowly made their way through town. Gray kept having to coax a started Natsu out of various bushes and trees; the fire boy was scared of all the strange new things. Apparently he'd never even been to a small village before, let alone a city.

It took them most of the day to find the local Guild, Fairy Tail. When they did, they were met at the entrance by a tall, redheaded girl. She held a bokken in her hand and was carefully using it to attack a pinata. At least, until she saw them. Then she stopped and stared at the boys in confusion.

"Are you two lost?"

"Not anymore," Gray told her. Natsu stared silently from under the ice boy's arm, where he seemed to have permanently attached himself. "We're here looking for a mage named Ur. Have you seen her?"

"Nope. But you should ask Master; he'll know if she's come through."

The girl, who introduced herself as Erza, led Gray and Natsu inside, to where a little old man sat at a bar. He smiled at them as they came closer.

"Hello little ones. What can we do for you?"

"I'm Gray. Have you seen Ur? Gray rummaged around in his backpack and pulled out a picture. The Master looked at it and shook his head.

"Sorry, I've never seen anyone like that. Let me guess, you got separated from your mother?"

"Sort of," Gray sighed. "She's my teacher too though. Ur disappeared a few months ago without telling me and Lyon why, and I can't find her anywhere!" It was very hard for Gray not to cry.

"So you're Lyon? Cute name." The Master reached over and tried to ruffle Natsu's hair, which was a mistake. The pink-haired boy hissed and snapped, almost biting the old man's fingers.

"N-No! I'm Natsu Dragneel. My dad disappeared too, so Gray and I are looking together. Hey! Have you seen Igneel? He's a big dragon, all bright red and-"

"Sorry, I've never seen a dragon." The old man froze, suddenly spitting out his drink. "Wait, what? You were raised by a dragon? Natsu, did you hit your head on your way here? Dragons don't exist."

"They do too!" Gray shouted, defending his friend. "I've met Igneel and he's awesome! He and Ur were friends!"

The old man looked thoughtful. "Well, well, well, isn't that interesting." He rubbed his chin and looked from one boy to the other. "So dragons do exist, eh? Doesn't change the fact that there aren't any around here. Sorry."

Natsu slumped to the ground, Gray kneeling beside him. The small dragon slayer had his face buried in his knees. He was crying. Gray patted his friend's back awkwardly, on the verge of breaking down himself. _Damn Salamander beat me to it. Well, we can't both cry at the same time; I'll have to wait._

"Why?" Natsu whimpered. "Why'd you go dad? I thought you loved me..."

"There, there." Arms wrapped around both boys, wiping away their tears. Gray had started crying despite his conviction not to. "I'm sure Igneel and Ur loved you very much. Look, how about we look after you until they come back? With the whole Guild looking out for them, I'm sure they won't take long to find. Especially if Igneel really is a dragon- he's sure to stand out."

"Thanks," Gray mumbled into the Master's shoulder. From beside him came a vaguely affirmative sob from Natsu.


	3. Soft Kitty

"Look what I found!"

Gray looked up at the sound of Natsu's shout. The pink-haired boy was standing in the entrance of the guild, a large egg cradled in his arms. It was at least four times the size of any egg Gray had seen before. Bouncing, Natsu ran over and waved his prize in front of the ice mage.

"It's a dragon egg!" Natsu boasted. Gray's eyes went wide, then narrowed.

"Really? How can you tell?"

"What else would lay an egg this big?"

Gray had to admit, his best friend's logic made sense for once. And it was nice to see Natsu so excited. In the year since they'd joined Fairy Tail, both boys had been growing disheartened by the lack of news about their masters. Happiness bubbled up in Gray's chest. Maybe this was a sign, a sign that Igneel and Ur would be returning soon.

"Gray, your pants."

The ice mage jumped at Erza's voice. It was accompanied by a snicker. The ice mage glared at the redhead's fanclub, trying to find the suspect. It was made difficult by their nervous shifting, a habit from when they'd all been slaves. But even so, Gray found him. Only one of the Tower Clan (as he and Natsu referred to them) ever dared laugh at his stripping habit.

"Jellal!" Gray pounced, tackling the other boy to the floor. "Don't make fun of me, Flashlight!" The pair rolled across the floor, firing ice and beams of starlight everywhere. Two tables broke, and the bar cracked up the middle. Luckily, every mage was fast enough to get themselves and their food out of the way. They were used to this from the young pair; Gray and Jellal fought at least once a week, and the number of wrestling matches the ice mage had with Natsu...

A flaming foot came down on Jellal's head, stopping the fight. Gray grinned up at Natsu. The dragon slayer scowled cutely. His egg was clutched tight to his chest.

"Gray, no! If you and Jellal wreck the hall again, you'll hurt Junior!" Natsu conveniently forgot that his matches with Gray wrecked the guild hall just as often as Jellal's did.

"Sorry..." Gray stood up and stuck his tongue out at Jellal. "You're lucky, Flashlight. Next time, Natsu and Junior won't be here to save you." Then he turned to his best friend. "Junior?"

"Yeah! Igneel Junior if it's a boy, and Ur Junior if it's a girl!"

"Awesome!" Gray hugged Natsu and the egg. hen he frowned. "But, how do we hatch it?"

Natsu pouted and stared at the ground. "I dunno. Igneel never told me how he hatched me."

Gray fought the urge to punch his friend. "That's cause you didn't hatch Flame-Brain! Humans don't come from eggs, we come from mommies."

"Oh. What's a mommy?"

"A mommy is a lady who cooks, sews, does laundry, and gives you a bedtime. She hugs you and tells you stories and kisses bruises better." Gray's chest pinched with sadness as he described what his mother had done for him. As usual when he was upset, he buried his face in his shorter friend's pink hair.

"You need to keep it warm." A voice interrupted the sad moment. Gray and Natsu looked up to see Lisanna, the youngest of the take-over family. The girl pointed at the egg and explained.

"To make the dragon hatch, you need to keep the egg warm in a nest, like birds. Oh, and one of you has to sit on it all the time! No, wait, that can't be right..." Lisanna frowned. "Maybe you don't need to sit on it. Dragons are too big for that, right?"

Natsu's eyes lit up. He grabbed Gray's hand and dragged the ice mage out of the guild. "Come on! We're gonna make the best nest ever!"

_...This is a line..._

Several hours later, the boys stopped to admire their handiwork. They were in the largest tree in Magnolia, and had just finished weaving a nest in between its branches. Actually, more like a treehouse. It was small and onion shaped, with windows on all four sides and a door in the top. The floor was covered in fabric scraps and feathers to keep the egg warm.

Gray jumped in first, so Natsu could lower their egg down to him. Then the dragon slayer tumbled in himself, giggling. The boys heaped their nesting materials around and over the egg, then laid down on either side of it. Natsu grinned at Gray.

"What kind do you think it is?" the pink-haired boy wanted to know. "Igneel said there's all kinds of dragons, not just fire. There's ice, iron, lightning... He listed them all once, but I don't remember."

Gray looked at the blue patterns on the eggshell. They kind of resembled flames. "I bet it's a fire dragon, like you. You're it's dad, after all."

"Does that make you the mom?"

"Ew, no!" Gray flung a handful of feathers at Natsu's face. "I can't be the mom! Moms are married to dads Natsu, married! I can't marry my brother!"

There was a long moment of silence. Then Natsu's voice echoed through the nest, though it was no more than a whisper. "Gray... What's a brother?"

"Well..." Gray wasn't sure how to explain this. He wasn't entirely sure himself. "Brothers are other boys who you grow up with, and they play and fight all the time. But no matter how hard they hit you or how long they're gone, you still love them because they're your brother. You, me, Lyon... We're all brothers."

"Oh... Okay!" Natsu beamed. "That's awesome! I like having brothers. So, if you're my brother and I'm the egg's dad, what does that make you?"

"Its uncle."

_...This is another line..._

It took a couple of months for the egg to hatch. During that time, Natsu wouldn't let it out of his sight. The dragon slayer spent his nights in the nest, and carried his egg everywhere during the day. Everyone in the guild thought it was adorable. They also seemed to like that it meant Natsu and Gray fought less, as neither would risk damaging the egg. Not that the guild hall was completely spared; Gray and Jellal had a furious match one day when the latter made a joke about using Natsu's child to bake a cake for Erza.

It was a slow week for Fairy Tail, with almost every member just sitting around the hall. Gray was amazed; it was the first time that literally no one had been on a job. Well, except Nab, which was equally amazing. The man had never done anything other than stare at the job board before.

Gray was sipping a glass of chocolate milk when he heard it, a sharp crack. He and Natsu immediately turned to the egg. Sure enough, there was a small crack running down one side. The egg wiggled around a little and cracked again. Natsu hugged it, a massive grin growing across his face.

"It's hatching! It's hatching!"

Gray smiled too, although he had no idea what to do. He wanted to hug the egg too, but Natsu was its father.

Suddenly, a large chunk of shell flew off, revealing something soft and blue. Gray and Natsu both gasped in excitement and began pulling bits of shell away as they came loose. Soon after, a pair of huge eyes stared up at them. Both boys frowned in confusion.

"A cat?"

"Aye!" The kitten mewed, jumping up into the air. White wings spread from its back, lifting it up before gliding down to land on Natsu's head. Then the wings vanished and the kitten immediately fell asleep. Somewhere in the background, Jellal snickered.

"Well, it's not a dragon."

"Shut up!" Gray jumped over and punched Jellal in the face. "How would you know Flashlight? You ever even seen a dragon? Maybe this is what they look like when they're babies!"

"No," Natsu whispered, "It's not. Junior's just a cat. But," and here his face suddenly brightened, "he's still family!"

"He?" Gray bounded back over to Natsu. "How can you tell?"

The dragon slayer handed Gray the kitten and lifted up its tail. Gray's face turned red.

"Gah! Don't do that, it's embarrassing! I didn't need to _see_ it!"

Natsu giggled and took the kitten back, cuddling it. Gray smiled, unable to stay mad for long.

"So, still gonna call him Igneel Junior if he's not a dragon?"

Gray hadn't thought people could deflate, but Natsu did so before his eyes. All the excitement flew out of him, to the point where even his spiky pink hair hung limp around his face. "I- I guess not. But what should I name him then? I don't know how to name cats!"

"You should call him Happy," Lisanna suggested. "You and Gray were so excited about the egg... I've never seen either of you so happy before."

The two boys looked at each other, then at the kitten. It did seem to fit, in a strange way. "Alright then, Happy it is!"

**A/N: For the people who decided to put this fic in a group dedicated to stories about Gray without romance, sorry to disappoint you, but ****_Playdate_**** will probably end up as a Gratsu story. If I'd known such a thing could happen, I might have put warnings earlier, but I've never had anyone add one of my fics to a group before. I'm sorry, but there are certain characters I can't not ship if they're in a story together, and Gray and Natsu are one pair.**


	4. False Lead

**A/N: For anyone who was confused about Jellal being in the last chapter, it's because, since Ultear never turned evil in this AU, Jellal wasn't possessed by her at the Tower of Heaven, so he and the other kids escaped with Erza and ended up in the guild.**

"Get up Flame-brain!" Gray hoisted his partner by the scruff of the neck and threw the nauseous dragon slayer off of the train. Natsu responded with a groan, landing on his head in a heap. Happy, as usual, chose not to get involved.

"Are we there yet?" Natsu demanded groggily. Gray nodded and dragged his friend to his feet.

"Come on Natsu, get ahold of yourself. You're the one who wanted to come to Hargeon."

"Cause I heard Igneel was here!"

"Actually," Happy piped up, "he heard someone around here was going by the name Salamander, and since that's what Igneel used to call him..."

Gray waved the cat off. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Unlike you, I was _there_. So where do we find this guy anyway?"

"No idea..."

"Idiots," Gray sighed, facepalming. He loved his companions to death, but neither of them knew the meaning of the word planning. As usual, it was left to the ice mage to figure out their next move. "Well, we may as well go look for something to eat."

"Food!" And Natsu was instantly revived.

The boys hadn't gone far when they started to hear commotion. At first it was just whispers, about how a famous mage named Salamander was in town. As they went on, the chaos began to grow, until they were nearly overrun by a trio of girls screaming about how handsome Salamander was. Gray and Natsu looked at each other.

"Guess we go that way then..."

Of course, anything to do with Igneel made Natsu even less rational than usual. The dragon slayer took off at a run, leaving Gray well behind. The ice mage sighed. "Natsu, you have _way_ too much energy."

It took a while to catch the pink haired boy. By the time Gray had his friend in sight, he wanted to facepalm again. Natsu had gone barging into what appeared to be a crowd of fangirls; he soon emerged, airborne, only to crash into a wall. The man the girls were ogling smoothed things over while Gray went to check on his friend.

"I take it you're Salamander?" the ice mage asked, dragging Natsu to his feet. He was answered with a nod.

"Of course," the tall man answered with a toss of his head that would have been more impressive if his violet hair hadn't been so short. Gray rolled his eyes- no way was this guy Igneel. The pair from Fairy Tail were summarily ignored as Salamander invited the screaming fangirls to a party, then flew away on a column of pink flame.

That was about when Happy caught up. The blue cat raced towards them, panting, and jumped up to Natsu's head before falling asleep. The mess of pink fluff was his favourite bed, no matter how many times Gray told his friends it looked stupid when Happy did that.

A blonde girl approached before Gray could tell Natsu off for running away. "Hey, thanks. If you hadn't run into me, I never would've noticed that sleaze-bag was using a charm spell."

"Eh?" Natsu blinked cluelessly. "Er, don't mention it." Then his stomach growled with all the force of a dragon.

Gray rolled his eyes. "Come on Flame-brain, let's get you something to eat before you burn the place down."

"Burn-? Are you two wizards?" the girl asked with a grin. "My name's Lucy; I'm a celestial spirit summoner. I'm not part of a guild yet though."

"I'm Gray and this is Natsu; ice and fire. Please excuse us; I was serious about Natsu burning the place down." Gray was practically dragged away as Natsu smelled a restaurant and took off. Not that it really bothered him; after seven years together, he was used to the dragon slayer's antics.

By the time they were done their meal, it was dark outside. A boat out in the bay rang with music- Salamander's party. Natsu curled into a disappointed ball at the base of a tree, Gray sitting beside him. The ice mage absently stroked his friend's hair, sadness gnawing at his own gut as well.

"Don't worry Natsu, I'm sure we'll find them someday. Even Igneel and Ur can't hide from your nose forever."

"Yeah, I guess." Natsu buried his face in his scarf. Then the dragon slayer's ears twitched. Gray froze, silent, knowing about his friend's enhanced senses.

"I wish I'd been invited to Salamander's party!" whined a woman somewhere left of the boys. A moment later her companion spoke up.

"Me too. Can't be helped though; he's a Fairy Tail wizard, so it's probably pretty exclusive."

Gray looked at Natsu in shock. _Fairy Tail? I've never seen __**him**__ before._

_ Not in a million years_, Natsu mouthed back. Both boys looked out at the party boat.

"This can't be good," Gray whispered. "If he's pretending to be from Fairy Tail, he's impersonating _you_. Let's go see what he's up to. You fly over with Happy and I'll keep the boat from moving."

"Aye sir!" Natsu woke Happy and quickly explained the situation. White wings appeared and the two took off into the sky.

Gray, on the other hand, ran down the hill to the harbour. His hands met in front of him and magic spilled out right before he ran into the water. "Ice make: floor!"

Bone white crystals formed over the waves, extending outwards in a path. Gray skated towards the fake Salamander's boat, freezing the ocean around it. Hopefully as long as it wasn't moving, Natsu wouldn't succumb to his embarrassing weakness.

A crash notified Gray that Natsu had made his typical flashy entrance. The ice mage skated faster, leaping over the ship's rail just in time to see Natsu punch some goon in the face. What was happening certainly didn't look like a party. Except for the Lucy they'd met earlier, most of the girls were unconscious.

"A slaver, eh?" Gray looked at Lucy. "Hey! Didn't you say you knew he was using dodgy magic? Why're you here?"

"He said his could get me into Fairy Tail," the girl whispered, ashamed. A wave of heat slammed over them both. Gray growled.

"Oi, Natsu, keep it down unless you want this thing moving again. There's only so much my ice can take!"

Black eyes filled with fire glanced at the ice mage. "You heard it though, didn't you? He's using the Fairy Tail name- _our_ name- to do this." An angry gesture sent out a wave of flame that caught on the sails. Gray groaned.

"I know, but you can't beat the guy up if you're dealing with you-know-what."

"Actually, if anyone does any 'beating up,' it's going to be me! Prominence whip!"

Pink flames snapped towards Natsu's head, their tips exploding like fireworks. Gray smirked. It never bored him, seeing the look on people's faces after what came next.

Fanged jaws closed over the flames, followed by Natsu licking his lips. A small burp escaped. "Heh, now I've got a fire in my belly!"

Everyone else on the boat froze. Natus and Gray grinned. The former inhaled, then let out a mighty roar. Fire hotter than anything the fake Salamander could produce shot forth, incinerating the ship's mast.

Lucy yelped. "What is he?"

"Natsu was raised by a dragon," Gray explained. "It's in his magic and his blood: fire spells just won't work. At most, he'll complain about the flavour."

A couple of the goons were trying to jump ship. Gray stopped them with a wave of his hand. "Oh no you don't. Ice make: cage!" Bars of ice shot up around the boat, preventing any escape from Natsu's flames. Creating further shells of ice, Gray shielded the captive girls. Unlike him, they weren't used to dragon fire.

"Um... Gray, was it? Where'd your shirt go?" Lucy's face was bright red.

Gray cursed, though the question was immediately answered. Somehow, Gray's shirt had ended up draped ocer Natsu's head. The dragon slayer didn't seem to notice. He was to busy taunting his imposter, who continued to fling useless bursts of pink fire.

"Quit playing with your food!" Gray snapped at his friend. "You already owe me so much ice cream for freezing the damn boat in place; finish him soon or I'll let it move again."

"Right!" Natsu grinned. His right hand started to glow. "Fire dragon iron first!"

The fake Salamander, along with several of his goons, flew several hundred metres under the force of the punch. They splashed down near shore, steam rising from the water around them. Natsu did a strange little victory dance.

"Alright suckers! That's what you get for messing with the name of Fairy Tail!"

"You two- are from Fairy Tail?" Lucy asked. Gray nodded, while Natsu finally noticed that one of the people they were rescuing was awake.

"Hey! You're that loony summoner from earlier!"

"It's Lucy!" Gray had to hand it to the girl, for someone who looked so weak, she could pack a decent punch when you ticked her off. Although, Natsu should have been able to dodge that.

"She's here because he tricked her," the ice mage explained. "He promised he'd help her join Fairy Tail."

"Oh." Natsu handed Gray his shirt. "Well, what do you think?"

"Couldn't hurt to introduce her to the master at least. She seems like a decent person." Gray looked around. "Hey, where'd Happy go?"

"Aye?" A little blue face popped out from the ship's galley. Happy had a fish in his mouth. Gray sighed and stalked over, picking the cat up and tossing him onto Natsu's head.

"Well, Flame-brain, this lead's a bust. Let's head home."

The two boys jumped down to the ice and made their way to shore, Lucy following. They passed a squadron of knights as they neared the harbour, one of whom paused to glare at Natsu.

"Thanks for keeping your destruction out of the city for once, Salamander."

Lucy stared at Natsu in awe, prompting Gray to roll his eyes. "Wait, so you're the _real_ Salamander of Fairy Tail? Which would make you," she spun to face Gray, "the Ice Devil!"

Gray groaned, wondering why people insisted on calling him that. Natsu was easy enough to see: Gray tended to call his friend Salamander when the dragon slayer was feeling down, so it was bound to get out sooner or later. Apparently the public decided, as the partner of Salamander, he needed and equally awesome-yet-lame nickname.

"Yeah, yeah, I guess. Never called myself that though. So, you coming with us or not?"

"Yes!"


	5. Vulcan Battle

Gray was introducing Lucy to various guild members while Natsu ate. It was the girl's first day as an official member, but she was already fitting in perfectly. Well, except for lack of bizarre quirks, but Gray was sure she'd develope one sooner or later. All Fairy Tail mages did.

Suddenly, purple hair flashed by at waist level. Gray frowned. Romeo never came to the guild without Macao- he was too young. The ice mage whipped out a hand to grab the child. "Hey buddy, slow down. What's the matter?"

"Dad's still not back." Tears welled up in Romeo's eyes. He stubbornly held them back. "I've gotta ask the master to send out a search party! Dad was supposed to be back before you and Natsu!"

Makarov appeared out of nowhere, having apparently overheard them. "Romeo, I'm sorry, but it's still too early for that. Your father knew the risks of the mission when he took it- if I send out a search party and he doesn't need help, it looks like I don't have any faith in him."

"But dad's supposed to be back by now! He promised!" Romeo squirmed out of Gray's hold and ran for the entrance of the guild. He was blocked by Natsu. The dragon slayer's face was uncharacteristically dark.

"Your dad- he took the mission on Mount Hakobe, yeah?"

Romeo nodded. Natsu patted him on the head. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be fine. On an unrelated note," Here Natsu looked at Gray, "We've got a mission, so put your shirt on stripper."

Frowning, Gray retrieved his shirt from the rafter it had been flung to. "Already? We just got back from Hargeon yesterday."

"Yeah. It's important."

Lucy began jumping up and down and clapping. "Oh, can I come too?"

Natsu gave her a once over. "Fine, but you might wanna put something warmer on."

"Yay! My first job as part of Fairy Tail!"

L.I.N.E.B.R.E.A.K.

Gray wasn't sure what he'd expected when Natsu told Lucy to wear something warm. Hiking up the side of Mount Hakobe in a blizzard wasn't it. And of course, the girl had ignored the dragon slayer's warning and was wearing her normal clothes. She shivered and complained behind them as Natsu led the way.

"How are you two not cold?" the blonde demanded. Her face was starting to turn blue as her teeth chattered. Gray looked at Natsu.

"I don't suppose you can make fire that doesn't hurt people yet?"

"Nope!" Natsu was altogether too cheerful for a frozen flame-brain. "Luna should've brought a coat."

"It's Lucy!" The girl seemed too cold to do more than shout halfheartedly. Well, that and glare. "Seriously though, you two are wearing way less clothes than I am. How are you not frozen solid?"

Gray was about to protest that _he_ was wearing the most clothes of any of them. His white coat was certainly the warmest thing any of them had brought, unless you counted the fire in Natsu's belly. But before he could speak, the ice mage realized he was no longer wearing his coat. He grumbled and turned back with the intent of finding it.

"Don't bother," Natsu grinned, "I've got it. I'm used to picking up after you on missions by now." He waved the coat in the air like a flag.

With a good-natured grumble, Gray retrieved the garment and draped it around Lucy's shoulders. "Here. I don't really need it, and you're less likely to lose it than I am."

"You two are monsters."

"Not really. Natsu's got internal fire like a dragon, and I'd be a pretty sad ice mage if I couldn't take a little cold."

"Like I said, monsters."

"Hey guys, I found something!"

Gray turned to where Natsu was shouting. Sure enough, the dragon slayer had found the entrance to a cave. Faint tracks in the snow around it attested to a vulcan inhabitant. Macao's mission must've taken him there.

"Alright, let's check it out."

It very quickly became clear that the cave was inhabited- and that Macao had failed the vulcan elimination mission. A monstrous magical ape attacked soon after they entered the cave, flinging Natsu so hard he broke a hole in the wall. Lucy gasped and ran to the edge. The cliffs dropped away below, too steep and tall to see the bottom through the blizzard.

"Gray! Natsu just-!"

"He'll be fine." Of course he would, Happy was sleeping in his pack. Gray wasn't _just_ telling himself Natsu would be fine, no matter what the nagging, fearful voices in his head said. "We've been through worse, believe me. Ice make: chains!"

Glittering ropes of ice sprang from his hands to wrap around the vulcan. It roared and squirmed. Gray knew his ice wouldn't hold for long, so he immediately began more casting. "Ice make: blade!"

Just before he stabbed the vulcan's heart, the cave wall exploded. Gray leapt out of the way of the falling stone and ice, hearing a scream from Lucy as he did. She didn't appear to be harmed though. The falling rubble revealed a grinning Natsu, held up by Happy.

"Hey ice-pop, save some for me!"

"Idiot!" Gray snarled. "If you'd just waited ten seconds I'd have finished this, then we could look for Macao in peace!"

"But I want some fun too!"

Unable to take it anymore, Gray turned his ice blade on Natsu. The dragon slayer blocked with a gout of flame that melted the blade into a smooth, harmless lump, then kicked Gray in the face. In response, the ice mage grabbed his friend's hair and yanked. This, naturally, meant that he was too close to dodge when Natsu turned and bit him, which earned the dragon slayer a punch in the ribs.

"Um... Guys!" Lucy's terrified squeak fell into the background as Gray and Natsu continued to brawl. Claws raked across the ice mage's shoulders, so he countered by elbowing Natsu in the jaw. Somewhere in the background, he was aware of a minotaur appearing from nowhere to protect Lucy from the vulcan, but monsters took second place to the fact that Natsu's knee had just slammed into his kidney. Gray growled and smashed his partner's face into a pile of snow, only to be tripped into the same pile himself.

The ice mage was about to throw Natsu into a giant icicle when two large bodies crashed into them. The minotaur vanished on impact; the vulcan did not. Without missing a beat, both brawlers turned and punched the ape through a wall with identical yells.

"Shut up!"

Magic glowed around the vulcan as it was knocked unconscious. Gray blinked in confusion as the furry form melted away, revealing a very battered Macao. The ice mage froze.

"Damn... Almost forgot about that." He turned to Natsu. "Oi, flame-brain, thanks for stopping me killing our guild mate."

"Huh?" As usual, it took Natsu a minute to react to the end of the aggression. He looked over at Macao. "Oh, right, vulcans use a kind of takeover thingy."

It took the pair several minutes to notice Lucy staring at them in alarm. She seemed to stunned to move. With a sigh, Gray picked up the girl while Natsu carried Macao. Happy fluttered around their heads as they walked home.

L.I.N.E.B.R.E.A.K.

Romeo was overjoyed to have his father back, and to listen to Macao's tale of what happened before he was possessed. Natsu immediately went to eat, while Lucy sat with Gray at the bar. It took her several minutes of eyeing him nervously to speak.

"Is that a common thing for you?"

"Huh?" Gray looked up from his mug in confusion, before checking to make sure he still had his boxers on. Because removing his underwear was a little further than normal, and would definitely be a cause for concern. Boxers still present, he returned to confused relief. Lucy explained further.

"The fight with Natsu. Do you two do that often?"

Gray shrugged. "Often enough. You should see what it's like when Jellal's around. You'll meet him later; he and the rest of the Tower Clan are on a long-term mission right now."

Natsu bounced over. "You talking about the flashlight?"

"Yeah. Lucy was asking about our fights, so..."

That earned a bark of laughter. Natsu beamed. "Aw Luigi, don't worry about us. Gray and I've been like that since we met. Doesn't mean we're not best friends. Which reminds me: Gray, have you heard from Leon recently?"

"Not for the past year, same as you. Why?"

"I'm just starting to worry is all." Natsu's face fell. "I mean, he knows where we are, so if he stopped writing, something must've happened, ne?"

Gray nodded, trying to ignore the tightness of worry in his belly. "Trust me, if I hear anything about him, you'll be the first to know. We can go get him together and have him join Fairy Tail."

Natsu cuddled into Gray's side, like he always did when he was scared. "Yeah. That'd be great."

Beside them, Lucy sighed. "I really don't get you two."

Mirajane nodded sagely from behind the bar. "Don't worry, most of us don't. But you'll get used to them."


End file.
